salamander

Wow. Reverse the TD. A call goes our way.

Hate it when our defenders don't look for the ball.

The Ravens have come to play today. Great way to start the game.

way to go Mallett. Only here for 12 days and he looks in command of the offense.

Nice stop BTW!!

 

Unfortunately I am one of the empty seats.   Wife had to work today and 3 kids at home.  When they changed the time of the game I couldn't go, but I couldn't sell the tickets and I'd rather they be empty than have Steelers fans in them.

If I were at the game today with Steelers fans standing up and waving that towel all day I think things would get ugly quick.

if we can't stop the run better than these first few plays, we are in even bigger trouble than the already big trouble I expected today.

Who in their right mind would think SSS is being serious or can't take a joke? SSS has the heart of a softy and gives back more than most people on the face of this earth. SSS's trash talk is entertaining and witty. Merry Xmas to all of Raven's Nation.

Well, I may have missed a few things because I was distracted the whole game by the hideous gold pants. That has to be the ugliest shade of gold they could have possibly picked.

Wanted us to win but hey, a KC win does keep them ahead of Steelers in the Wild Card. Steelers out of the playoffs would be a consolation prize for this stinker of a season.

Lol well said.

 

The score is even more disappointing.

 

Come to think of it, the two things might be related...

you might just be on to something there darklight. But maybe the fans just had 4:00tickets for Star Wars this afternoon

Hope Juice is ok.

stadium looks deserted. Upper deck is just about empty. Sad to see that

Alex Smith on the Ravens secondary. "They're rarely out of position, they're rarely confused, they communicate well and they know what they're doing". Either this is Alex Smith's generic response every week about every team or he watched Ravens game film from prior years by mistake.

Justin is truly 1 of the most unselfish and nicest players in the league. I admire this man very much. Hope he heals up quickly. Justin is a great mentor for many of these up and coming players, both on and off the field.

 Just knowing that cool and calm Joe gets irritated enough to want to knock somebody on the side of the head who may have a bad work ethic or lax attitude gives me real hope for the team next year. In fact, it makes me happy. I can't envision Joe actually bopping some teammate over the head (lol) but I sure hope Joe fully uses his leadership to set the tone, uphold the highest effort standards and to be intolerant of anything less than 100% from himself and his teammates. Way to go Joe.

The more time and distance we get from the Ray Rice incident, the more I feel that Ray is a good and decent man who has certainly done his best to change and make amends after he made the worst mistake of his life. I wish that the NFL would take him up on his recent offer to help with Domestic Violence in the league. I can't think of a more sincere person who has paid such a heavy price who could possibly get through to other players more than Ray Rice. Ray could help the NFL try make an impact league-wide regarding DV and it would be nice to see something positive come out of this tragedy. Best wishes to you and your family Ray.

It seems some people forget that fan ballot makes only 1/3 of the voting. So there is no "Maybe next year" just yet:)

 

I'd be hugely disappointed in players-coaches-experts votes if at least Koch, Yanda, Williams don't get the invite. Juice has been solid, but some FB-s might have been better overall, so he might be a coin toss. Same goes with McClellan.

 

As for Tucker, I'd be honestly surprised if he DID get the invite considering he's currently 29th in FG percentage. If he did get the invite, it'd be purely based on his past achievements, like it is with so many other players, and that's also the big reason I personally don't like Pro Bowl

Appreciate the voting specifics RaRa. I was wondering what % of the vote was fan based. Good news that fans only get a third of the voting. Agree, there may be a good chance yet for some Ravens. The fan voting as a popularity contest can make a joke of the Pro Bowl so I am glad there is some sense of limiting the votes and that there is a heavier reliance upon experts/coaches. Still hope left for this year, we have some deserving players who should get the honor of being a Pro Bowler. Thanks for clarifying the voting process.

Its not all about exposure.  When you play at a small school you are playing against lesser competition which makes the transition to the nil that much more difficult.  The coaches are also not as good in smaller schools so most of these guys come out pretty raw.  I see people saying that Brown should have been on the team since day one, but I disagree. DB came into the league extremely raw and needed to perfect his technique before he came up.  If you knew what to look for you would see that his rout running is still a bit of a work in progress.  The other hurdle that he has to overcome is his limited athletic ability.  Someone commented earlier that Brown reminded him of Gilmore.  I agree, and really thats not a complement. If Gilmore were a move tight end then it would be, but he is an inline guy.  They do have similar athletic ability and are not very smooth in and out of breaks.  That being said, I like DB, he just has a lot of hurdles to overcome, to make next years squad.  I would like to see him used more in redzone  situations.  His height and his hands are really his strengths.  I say throw it up to him a few time and let him win that jump ball.

Pretty much agree with your elaboration on the small school issues which can crop up. To clarify, I did not say or imply that it was ALL about exposure, but that it is 1 valid additional hurdle coming from a small school, common throughout the NFL. There can be a presumption among NFL scouts and coaches that since the competition level is generally not as good at smaller schools, that the individual players may be of lesser capability, which is certainly not always the case. It is also possibly true.for Daniel to have needed more coaching/development time on the practice squad. Neither you nor I are at practice to make a definitive statement of fact whether this is true, but it is a logical likelihood that he needed a bit more time and coaching than perhaps some others to maximize readiness. In any event, I like the kid. Daniel's potential has been evident enough to be worth giving him some opportunities since the pre-season, he seems to get open and his hands seem pretty good. I really hope Daniel keeps progressing and earns a spot for himself on the team next  year.

It would have been nice for some of our guys to make the Pro-Bowl because they really wanted to go, and some certainly deserved to be voted in, especially Koch, Williams, Yanda and Juice....maybe next year....

Daniel Brown has earned and deserved every opportunity he has gotten. Being from a small school is an extra hurdle for all players trying to make it in to the NFL, having less exposure and hype. I wish him a ton of success. Daniel could possibly become a potentially very solid receiver so I hope he doesn't yo-yo on and off the squad or roster as much from this point on.

I do think that throughout the NFL there is a distinct disadvantage against those coming from a small school. Daniel is not the first, nor will he be the last small school player to have an extra hurdle to get as many looks as the players from the big school programs. I am just glad Daniel is getting a shot to prove he belongs in the NFL. I hope Daniel continues to grow and excel, he has worked hard for the opportunity and he is earning my respect as an NFL receiver.

Gillmore is certainly 1 of my favorite players to watch but there is no reason to put him at further risk. We need Crockett to be fully healthy to start next season. No way I would take any chance playing him because the back or shoulder injury could end up even more serious.

Agreed, that is one of the major causes of hamstring pulls, that imbalance of upper leg and glutes to lower leg strength which causes stabilization issues from strain.

I would venture that forcing "bulking up" for strength can be the root of a lot of muscle issues. Muscle strength comes from increasing the thickness of muscle fibers you have, not the increase of the number of fibers themselves.

The 3 components of strength training are overload, specificity and progression.  When you try to progress the load that a muscle can handle too quickly is when muscle injuries occur especially if their is an imbalance relating to specific muscle groups.

 

I would think that more attention needs to be paid to what the players are doing in the offseason when they aren't around the Ravens facilities and trainers. Perhaps a more specifically outlined plan for workouts throughout the offseason like they have in regular season.  You can't pull your body into playing shape in the few weeks mandated by the CBA, especially if you haven't done the proper things throughout the offseason.

 

I agree with the comments earlier about flexibility too, I think it was Matt Birk that brought the flexibility specialists in, and it seemed to work well for him, especially in helping in recovery from game play.

Agree 100% Grapple. There have been fan posts throughout the season discussing what link these injuries could be having to training, even in the off season. There have been some very intelligent comments by posters today and throughout the season. I hope the FO is very serious about making some changes and find some experts who can provide guidelines which attain a possibly more balanced approach for strength and flexibility. This is very good news to read an article acknowledging that the FO is wondering the same things many posters have expressed for months. Hoping that some new things can be implemented to reduce the # of injuries.

This is Joe's team. The players know it, the coaches know it, the fans know it, even steelers fans know it. I'm not too concerned about Mallett knowing his place on our team. I'm sure he knows exactly what his role will be and is choosing stability and the chance to grow some more over what he has been through this year in Houstin. With the possability that Flacco may not be 100% at the start of next season should be motivation for Ryan to work his butt off both on the practice field and in the classroom in case he is called upon. Welcome to Baltimore Ryan!

Of course I fully know, as does Joe, the players, coaches, fans (including Steelers fans) that Mallett's role on the team is as a backup. However, it was only a very short time ago that Mallett was displaying very immature and unprofessional behavior at not being a starter, in which he was overtly acting out as a result.  I am sure that the FO has been quite clear with Mallet but people do not usually abruptly change or grow up that quickly or instantly, regardless of what they may be saying. I wish Mallett well but I will defer judging the depth of his attitude change until I see, months from now, what  kind of teammate he has become, as well as his work ethic and attitude. Beyond the red flags and behavior which resulted in Houston letting him go from the team, I will be thrilled if Mallett has truly learned and changed due to his recent experiences and adds a quality backup QB to the roster.